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Archive for the ‘Complaints’ Category

The New York Times, & this article is trying to get the 20-somethings riled up, in an attempt at who-knows-what. Ratings, readership, subscriptions, blah. Who cares. Point is, it’s working. Not really a bad thing this time, since the article is wrong on so many levels, as a lot of commenters point out.

Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child.

Okay, so maybe that was a standard 20 or 30 years ago. Today? In this modern age, that doesn’t always work.

– Completing School – Okay, how far? Are we talking High School? College? 2- or 4-year? Graduate school? While most of us are fairly adept at graduating high school, there are a lot of us who were unable or just unwilling to attend college. College costs a lot. Those costs, should we choose to accept them, typically come in the form of loans. And those loans make it hard to…

– Becoming Financially Independent – This aspect of “growing up” is becoming more and more of a stumbling block, the further you go on the higher education ladder. Loans are hefty. You pay them off over time, but that still takes a long, long time. Then what if you need a car? A credit card for emergencies? In my mind, a person is not financially independent until they can afford to live entirely on their own, despite whatever loans they have. That may be different from what the article defines, but I think it would extremely difficult to live on ones’ own if they had rent, student loans, credit cards, car loan, & other bills & utilities to pay. Some people will most likely not ever be financially independent, because they’ll have roommates, significant others, or spouses with whom they’ll share rent and other monetary responsibilities.

– Leaving Home – Lack of sufficient income and job opportunities are two major reasons for not being able to leave home. But what about those who choose to stay home not because they can’t leave, but because to leave would be detrimental to their parents, whether financially, physically, or emotionally. With families who may have begun later in the parents’ lives, their 20-something children may find it difficult to leave home, lest their parents health suffer. This concept would also hinder…

– Getting Married – It would be a little difficult, in my mind, to date and eventually marry if I were burdened by lack of job opportunities, ailing parents or siblings, attempting to repay loans or any of the other issues that were previously mentioned. Those issues aside, some people just aren’t the marrying type. They much prefer their independence and the freedom to do whatever they want whenever they choose. On the other hand, those who have found their love may not choose to marry straightaway, choosing instead to cohabitate for a time to ‘test the water,’ waiting until an appropriate time to marry.

– Having a Child – This event could occur either before or after marriage, and again, some people are not the child-rearing type. Women, with more choices for prevention, can choose to delay the childbearing process until they are ready, instead of letting Mother Nature make the choice for them.

When I grow up…

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve completed two of the five milestones. I’ve completed school as far as I chose to go, and I’ve moved away from home. By no means have I become financially independent, I have yet to marry, and last I checked I have no offspring.

I’m okay with that. I’m happy, I have my hobbies, I’m slowly ridding myself of debts, & I’m living with someone I love very dearly. So as far as I’m concerned, at 27 years old, I’m grown up enough. Will I ever reach the other milestones? Maybe, but I’m not rushing it. Besides, anyone who has “grown up” will always tell someone younger than them not to rush it. So why not take the advice of your elders, and not rush it?

I’ve never been good about being patient, and if it’s obvious anywhere, it is most obvious in my attempts to control my weight. I’ve joined gyms, I’ve taken classes, I buy DVDs, equipment, games, bikes, shoes, diet pills, supplements, powders, books, magazines. No, not magazines. But I have read article after article online and in other magazines I’ve subscribed to.

Patience is not my virtue.

If I can’t see or feel results, even after a few days, I get frustrated. I turn back to junk and comfort foods, which I’m beginning to realize is a serious, serious crutch for me. I can’t even understand how it became as such. I didn’t think I was like that; no one ever looked at me and thought I was using food like others use drugs or alcohol… At least, no one’s ever said that out loud. I snack almost uncontrollably. If I can see it, and I like it, I’ll eat it until it’s gone. I get cranky if I have oatmeal every morning for two or three days, and then trundle myself to BK for a breakfast biscuit & hashtots.

I realize I’m hurting myself.

It might be I’m going half a step forward and two or three steps back. I eat poorly. I misuse diet shakes. I don’t stick to anything very long before I give up.

It probably sounds like I’m some overweight cow, wallowing in self-pity, but in reality I don’t appear all that overweight. They call that visceral fat, and aside from subcutaneous fat, it’s extremely hard to get rid of. I’m trying not to be self-pitying, rather, I’m quite angry at myself. Anger is a better motivator for me anyway. Just ask anyone who’s helped me move or pack/unpack anything.

I’m considering another diet plan, but I don’t want to talk about it here right now.

I’m angry that I’ve come this far to this, I’m frustrated that I can’t get results I want, and I’m upset that I may have to restrict myself so much that if I get frustrated at my lack of results I’ll break my plan and hit the junk food so hard I’ll put myself back into that up-and-down spiral I’m peering over the edge of right now.

I am in so much pain. I went to the gym tonight, after not going since Thursday. I went to not one, but TWO classes, back to back. A class they call Body Shape & Yoga. Body Shape is like full-body resistance workout using light handweights, a stair-step box, a weight bar, and an elastic band to essentially work every muscle group you didn’t even know you had.

There is, or was, a traitor in my circle of Twitter friends. Earlier today, a screen shot of my Twitter stream was used to create a “motivational” poster and uploaded onto a website. The idea was rude, lacked judgement, and was malicious towards me. For several reasons, I find the scenario entirely inappropriate. 1) My photo was included on the photo. 2) My username was included in the photo. 3) I was not asked permission to use my photo or my Twitter stream in a photo. 4) The screen shot included some very private comments I had made that day.

I understand that some of that list I can control, like not using my real photo, and not posting private information into my Twitter stream. However, my Twitter stream is set Private. Which means that I allow myself a little more leeway when posting information. It also means that when I permit someone to follow my Twitter stream, I give them a certain amount of trust. Trust that what I post will not be used in a malicious fashion.

I have already removed the people following me who I have no idea who they were, but allowed them to follow me anyway. I plan on taking a long, hard look at the Twitter users who are following me still, and thinking very strongly about who to keep and who to turn away. Think of this as a closing of the gates. I apparently put far too much trust in the integrity of my Twitterpals. At least, one of them.

With three weeks remaining until I move, I realize the extent to which I have NOT packed. I still have a fully stocked entertainment center, desk, low shelf, two dressers, an armoire, a rack of clothes, and four bookshelves to empty and pack, plus other random things from closets and hanging racks around the house. I also have at least two large stacks of boxes that have yet to be packed, and the trailer is already near to full. All that can fit in there still is the mattress set we purchased earlier today, plus possibly a stack of boxes.

What frustrates me is not only how much I still have left to pack, but also the seeming unwillingness of my mother & father to assist me. They’re more than helpful when it comes to shopping for things I still need, or load things into the trailer, but are absolutely disinterested in assisting me to box up what I still need to pack.

I’m worried my frustration will lead me to make one of several very poor choices. I will either end up not doing anything until the last minute, resulting in much headache for me and my family, or I will become so angry at the lack of assistance that I will just start throwing things away that I will regret later.

I can’t think clearly and in a linear enough fashion to compose the remainder of this post properly. Maybe tomorrow.

I don’t feel like doing much of anything right now. I’m sitting here in the living room, typing away on my new Eee PC – 12G, Win XP – upset that my poor cat has to wear one of those retarded satellite dish collars for another day, and thinking… “I’d really rather not do anything right now.”

I’m just not interested. Recording? I should, but I’m not feeling energetic enough to pull off the lines I need to record. An episode of my show? No, it’d just turn into me whining about what’s been going on the past few weeks. Gaming? I don’t feel like getting off the couch right now – the recliner part is up and I’m relatively comfortable. I haven’t even bothered to get up and find the remote to turn on the TV.

Why do I feel this way? A good answer would probably be depression, but since I’m not clinically diagnosed, it’s not a viable excuse. I’m frustrated. I had wanted to go traveling this weekend, but since Lucifer required so much post-operation attention, I had to put those plans off. I missed out on seeing Speed Racer in the theater, and will probably miss out on Iron Man and Prince Caspian too. I feel like I’m exiled to the Mountainous Regions and can’t do much of anything.

The problem with chain letters is that they are thoroughly obnoxious. Sure, they could contain useful information, like how much fecal material resides on your toothbrush, or how bad margarine is for you, but some chain letters are completely false, or contain information that’s YEARS old! So, how does one separate the fact from the fiction, the cream from the crap? With a heavy dose of intelligence, a level head, and a few investigative websites.

Intelligence – use it or lose it

First of all, don’t ever believe everything you read. Especially if it’s online, and even more so if it’s from that crazy aunt who keeps 40 cats and claims she keeps a zebra in the backyard. Just because it exists, or someone says it exists, doesn’t mean it exists, or that it’s entirely truthful. If it sounds outrageous and crazy, it probably is outrageous and crazy.

A Level Head – even keeled means smooth sailing

Secondly, chain letters are usually created, even the truthful ones, to provoke those who are easily panicked into a frenzy, flooding their friends inboxes with disastrous information. Learning to pause and take a moment to think about what you just read can save your friends from groaning each time they see your e-mail address in their inbox.

Investigative Websites – A little legwork goes a long way

Last, there are some great websites that can help you sort out whether you should trash or forward that letter. www.breakthechain.org is a website dedicated to convincing people that not all chain letters and forwarded e-mails are truthful, and even the ones that are claiming to be truthful are entirely true. It shows you letters that have been caught as chain letters, and lets you send chain letters to the webmaster so that they can keep helping to ‘break the chain.’

Another website that will help you determine fact from fiction is www.snopes.com, which is dedicated to dispelling urban myths and legends. They’re set up so all you have to do is search for a specific topic, like “strawberry meth,” to return a wealth of information on the subjects’ half-truths. Likewise, www.scambusters.org will help you figure out if that prince from Nigeria really is willing to share his fortune with you or if he just wants to wipe out your bank accounts. They also have an Urban Legends section that can aid you in finding out why Aunt Betty wants you to make sure you keep panty hose on the ends of your water faucets.

And so, to sum it all up, there are three ways to keep your friends from hating your e-mail address in their inboxes. Use your head, don’t panic, and do a little research before you hit the “forward” and “send to entire address book” buttons.

I’ve never forwarded a chain e-mail in my life. I’ve sent back rebuttals from Snopes disproving their letters, and even have received flack from it. But there’s no shortage of people who don’t think things through on the Internet.